Commercial indifference and creative issues, as well his being tired of standing around during Kim's guitar solos, led Youlden to leave Savoy Brown in May 1970. Kim tried to put the best spin on the key loss, telling Melody Maker, "It's been a healthy split . . . and Chris just wanted to go his own way. While he was in the group, he was finding it increasingly difficult to compromise, which you must [do] with[in] a group." Kim also discussed Youlden's departure to Beat Instrumental: "He's not the sort of person who finds it easy to make compromises-maybe that's what makes someone successful-and he and the band were progressing in very different directions. I think he wrote his songs with a particular treatment in his head while the band gave them a different style altogether; he's nearer to people like Jimmy Witherspoon than a heavy band. I'd known for a while that he would be leaving."

Youlden was not replaced, and Peverett began handling lead vocals. Kim explained to Record Mirror that more changes were in store. "Now that our lead singer Chris Youlden has left the group we must have got into a looser scene musically and in the future are planning to augment the band. At the moment we're appearing as a quartet and we seem to be doing well on all the gigs in Britain now."

The band played 14 British gigs between June and August, then returned to the studio to record their next album. With the loss of their chief songwriter, the other group members had to pick up the slack. "Since Chris left the group we've all been more involved in writing material," Tone Stevens told Record Mirror. "Our new single is a number I wrote called "Poor Girl" and it's a kind of reflection on the tours of America, the girls I've met, the posers." The album, Lookin' In was released in October 1970, a mere four months after the band's previous release. Lookin' In offered a return to basics, eschewing the brass backing and complex arrangements in favor of more riff-oriented, heavier rock song structures. The best tracks were the lengthy "Leavin' Again," Stevens's hard-edged "Poor Girl" and the title track. Savoy Brown's most commercially successful album to date, Lookin' In reached #39 on the U.S. charts.

The band then asked Bob Hall, still only a part-time member at this point, to again become a full-time member. But Hall, who continued his daytime job, refused and was not replaced. As Kim explained to Beat Instrumental, "At one time Bob could just come along to a gig and he'd been able to fit in perfectly. The time came when we were too complex for him to be able to do it anymore unless he'd become a full-time member." With Hall going unreplaced, Kim would sometimes fill in on piano during performance. They also brought in a conga player, Owen Finnegan, although his stint with the group was brief.

On November 18, 1970, the group began its fifth U.S. tour (except for Finnegan, who failed to obtain his visa on time). While the group was again well received in the States, Kim and the other band members mutually agreed that the group would break up upon their return to England. Kim discussed the break up with the New Musical Express, "I wish to broaden the band's musical scope and the present line-up is too restrictive." Kim elaborated his rationale to Sounds: "The old group wasn't happening in a spontaneous way and even on the last tour of America the kids were noticing our lack of enthusiasm." For their part, Peverett, Stevens and Earle were eager to strike out on their own and joining forces with Rod Price achieved stardom in the rock'n'boogie band Foghat.

Even though he had discharged all the members, Kim decided not to disband Savoy Brown, but instead make a complete lineup change by bringing in drummer Ron Berg, keyboardist Paul Raymond, bassist Andy Pyle and singer Pete Scott. Berg was formerly of Blodwyn Pig, Raymond had been a member of Chicken Shack and Plastic Penny and Pyle had previously been in Blodwyn Pig and McGregor's Engine. The new members rehearsed from late December to early January, preparing for Savoy Brown's sixth U.S. tour. The band also recorded a four-song BBC session in January, which included a prototype of "Street Corner Talking."

From February 5 to April 2, 1971 the band toured the U.S., co-headlining with the Faces. Unsatisfied, Kim again decided to purge the lineup in order to rejuvenate the band, so at the end of the tour, Pyle and Berg left to join Juicy Lucy and Kim replaced them with Andy Silvester and Dave Bidwell, formerly bassist and drummer with Chicken Shack. Ex-Idle Race vocalist Dave Walker also joined as a replacement for Scott. (Scott surfaced on the 1975 Beggars Opera album, Beggars Can't Be Choosers). Kim explained the turnover to Circus magazine: "Our progression was nil and we weren't exactly getting favourable reviews, especially on the west coast. I wanted to stay as free as possible and instead I felt hemmed in." Kim also felt that the band "desperately needed a new direction" and decided that a return to basics was the best course to chart.

The group recorded the album Street Corner Talking in four 12-hour sessions. Produced by Neil Slaven, Street Corner Talking was a surprisingly coherent and accessible collection. The lead track, "Tell Mama" became the group's signature song and a minor hit (U.S. #83) when released in edited form. The New Musical Express applauded the single, saying, "It's carefree and gay, makes for utterly compulsive listening, and is also tailor-made for the discos." Other standout tracks included the mid-tempo "Let It Rock" and a cover of the Temptations' hit "I Can't Get Next to You." Street Corner Talking was released in September 1971 and reached #75 on the U.S. charts.

Overall, the new LP's reviews were mostly positive. Disc and Music Echo wrote, "It's a good album-well thought-out, composed and produced. Numbers are varied, it rocks nicely, there's some blues guitar here and there like on the title track, but it's not tedious." Rolling Stone called it "the group's most comprehensively enjoyable record in ages," adding, "Street Corner Talking marks the rebirth of Savoy Brown. The personnel changes that brought the present group together is [sic] also responsible for Savoy Brown's new life as a rock band, which looks to be a long and profitable one."

The group made two more U.S. tours in 1971. In February 1972, the band released their seventh LP, Hellbound Train, again produced by Neil Slaven. Although a weak album that suffered from a dearth of inspired material, Hellbound Train ironically became Savoy Brown's most successful LP by reaching #34 on the U.S. charts. Rolling Stone offered faint approval, describing the release as "a modest success by a pleasant-sounding band. This is a safe, low-keyed, enjoyable record through a side and a half. Then comes the title tune, an extended impressionistic piece. It tries to be dark, but it just gets murky."

The band toured Britain with Chicken Shack before starting their eighth U.S. tour in late February. In June 1972, Silvester left to replace Pyle in Juicy Lucy. Pyle in turn replaced Silvester in Savoy Brown. The lineup, thus revised, recorded a concert in the summer of 1972 in Central Park that was voted the best of New York's 1972 concert series by the Village Voice. The show was released in 1989 as Live in Central Park, a confident-sounding rock album showcasing four songs from their forthcoming Lion's Share project, along with "Tell Mama" and "Shot in the Head" from Street Corner Talking.

By the time Lion's Share was released in November 1972, Walker had left to join Fleetwood Mac for what mostly would be a short and unhappy stay. Savoy Brown replaced him with veteran musician Jackie Lynton. Lion's Share contained some memorable tracks, particularly "Shot in the Head," written by former Easybeats members Harry Vanda and George Young, and Kim's "Second Try," an excellent rocker. Lions Share just scraped the U.S. charts, reaching #151.

Kim Simmonds continued to record and tour under the name Savoy Brown, releasing Jack the Toad (1973, U.S. #84); Boogie Brothers with Stan Webb and Miller Anderson (1974, U.S. #101); Wire Fire (1975, U.S. #153); Skin 'n' Bone(1976); and Savage Return (1978). By 1979, Kim had moved to the U.S., where he continued to release records as Savoy Brown, including Just Live (1981, German, recorded in 1970); Greatest Hits-Live in Concert (1981); Rock'n'Roll Warriors (1981); Slow Train (1986); Make Me Sweat (1987); Kings of Boogie (1989, German); Live 'n' Kicking (1990, German); Let It Ride (1992); Bring It Home (1995); the solo acoustic Solitaire (1998); and The Blues Keep Me Holding On (1999). In 2000, Simmonds issued a second solo acoustic CD, Blues Like Midnight.

Chris Youlden recorded two solo albums, Nowhere Road (1973) and City Child (1974), then left the music business to return to school. He issued Second Sight in 1991.

Dave Walker stayed with Fleetwood Mac long enough to record Penguin. He joined Black Sabbath in 1978, staying for only a few months. He rejoined Savoy Brown in January 1987 and stayed through October 1991.

Jackie Lynton formed Jackie Lynton's Grande, which released one album. A second album was released in 1980 under the name of The Jackie Lynton Band.

Andy Pyle rejoined Blodwyn Pig and later was a member of the Kinks (from November 1976 to April 1978). He also played with Alvin Lee and Wishbone Ash.

Berg and Pyle again teamed up on the Alvin Lee album Pump Iron in 1975. Their next project together was a band they formed in 1978 called Network, which also included ex-Kink John Gosling.

Paul Raymond went on to join UFO and its spin-off, the Michael Schenker Group.

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The authors wish to thank Bob Brunning, Bob Hall, Alan Pearce, Tim Pratt, Kim Simmonds and Brian Wilcock.

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The above is an extract from the upcoming book "Blues-Rock Explosion" published by Old Goat Publishing.

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